Cristiano Ronaldo hasn't faced every European soccer player during his career, but it sometimes feels that will start for Portugal against Georgia on Wednesday. The European Championships have been part of his story arc for so long that he faced guys who are now grandfathers, like former England goalkeeper David isn't even the oldest of all Ronaldo's Euros opponents. That distinction belongs to former Netherlands forward Pierre Van Hooijdonk, now 54, three-and-a-half decades older than the youngest of the group of individuals who knows what it's like to meet Ronaldo at the 's Kenan Yildiz of Turkey, 19, who Portugal faced last week in Group F, and wasn't even born when the Al-Nassr forward made his tournament debut in the summer of Wednesday, Ronaldo's Portugal will play against a group of players from Georgia who say it is like a dream to share a field with him. Those players are led by a head coach who used to be a World Cup star but now sports a distinguished silver beard and a few spare pounds around the yep, Ronaldo played against him too."I don't know if it makes me old or if it makes him old Bruno Fernandes Jersey, " Georgia head coach and former France international Willy Sagnol told The Telegraph. Sagnol clashed with Ronaldo at the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo's sprint down the wing and Sangol's spirited attempt to slow him down featured on the official FIFA highlights Ronaldo's ever-lasting legacy for Portugal"We are talking about one of the best players in football history on the same level as Pele, Maradona Gonalo Inacio Jersey, Zinedine Zidane, " Sagnol added. "Iconic players. The difference is that he reached the top of football but is still playing and performing."He's going to be such a great source of motivation for my players because they will all want to play against him. Georgia hasn't faced Portugal in qualification, so my players have only dreamed of playing against Ronaldo. Now it's the reality and that is a source of extreme motivation."Portugal has already secured the top spot in Group F on account of its pair of wins against Czechia and Turkey, but Martinez confirmed he would not be giving his 39-year-old superstar a chance to rest his legs."I can tell you that the captain will be in the starting 11, " Martinez told reporters. "He played in one preparation game and he had a very consistent season this year. He has played many minutes and that is important to the competitive levels, it is not good to start and stop."Although Ronaldo has not scored yet, his unselfish pass to Bruno Fernandes against Turkey gave him a share of the all-time Euros assists record, with Ronaldo sets up Bruno Fernandes who scores to give Portugal a 3-0 lead over Trkiye Joao Felix is likely to feature against Georgia and goalkeeper Diogo Costa, plus Ronaldo, were confirmed, Martinez kept quiet about the makeup of his starting group."It won't be a revolution, " Martinez said. "It will be a competitive team that wants to win."When Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are discussed as the best players of their generation, it is a little deceiving. By soccer norms Sam Costa Jersey, 20 years isn't a generation, it's more like two, even with modern science prolonging careers more than 2004, across six Euros tournaments, Ronaldo has competed against players born in five different decades and has won the tournament once, in is playing as well as any other squad right now and Martinez has worked swiftly and emphatically to shut down any suggestion that Ronaldo might be best served coming off the opportunity to go on a deep run is tantalizing, even though Ronaldo is no longer the only focus of the team's have spoken glowingly about his impact and a point of focus for Ronaldo this time
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